Birthright
by Benjamin J Brown
Summary: Bruce Wayne refuses to tell his son, Jason, of his former life as Batman. Damian doesn't like this and strikes out on his own. AU. I don't claim to own any characters or articles featured within this other than original ones for the story.
1. Prologue

Bruce Wayne entered the room quietly. His nine year old son lying in his bed, sleeping peacefully. Bruce smiled as he watched little Jason sleep.

Jason.

The boy had received that name to remind Bruce of his greatest failing and not to make the same mistakes with his son. It was a morbid thought but one that had had the desired effect. It had also led to an unfortunate circumstance.

A Gotham without Batman. Bruce looked out of his son's bedroom window at the night sky. Years ago, he would sit in that very room watching for any sign of the call for the Dark Knight to venture out into the night once again. Then had came his death, a time during which Dick Grayson had stepped up, albeit with some coaxing from those around him, followed around a year later by his resurrection.

He remembered the day. He had felt slightly guilty upon his revival, not only knowing how he had been used by the Black Lantern corps but knowing how he had deprived Dick of what, contrary to the knowledge of others, Bruce had always believed was Dick's eventual right.

Now, ten years on, the slightly greying Bruce was no more the Dark Knight than he was hard up for money; on the contrary, his business had thrived more than he could have thought possible, and he found himself with more wealth than he had believed possible.

"Dad?" The voice said from the door way.

Bruce turned to see his elder son, Damian, stood in the doorway. The young man walked up beside his father and looked at the sky with him.

"Ever miss it?" He asked.

"No." Bruce replied coolly "I chose to give it up when he was born and I stick by my choices. _All of them._"

Damian didn't need telling what Bruce had meant. After Miranda, Bruce's wife and Jason's mother, had given birth to Jason, Bruce had given up the mantle of the bat. Not only that, but he had forbidden Dick, Tim Drake or the at the time teen aged Damian from becoming the new Batman for fear of them having to live the life he had up until that point.

He knew there were days when his father regretted it, and knew he still felt guilty for it, for taking it away from them, especially Dick, but he also knew Bruce was glad that he hadn't lost anyone else the same way he had lost Jason's namesake, Jason Todd, the second Robin, someone Damian had been compared to when Dick had asked him to be his Robin.

"Right..." Damian said, breaking the silence "And I don't think he's ever going to ask about how you spent your younger years."

"He will." Bruce said "And he'll get the truth, or at least, part of it."

"And that is?" Damian asked.

"That I was a business man." Bruce said "He doesn't need to know about any of it."

"And what about when he finds the cave?" The younger man asked, this time more forcefully "Dad, you don't have a right to keep this from him. To keep Batman from him, it's in his blood."

"But it doesn't have to be his life like it was mine." Bruce said "I won't let it be."

"What if he asks about his adoptive brother?" Damian asked, getting further more aggressive.

"Then I'll tell him what happened to Tim." Bruce said, his tone darker "That he was murdered by a mad man."

"Dad, I never understood, how could you not go out to try and avenge him?" Damian said "I mean, I know he and I didn't see eye to eye all the time, but even I was furious after what Crane did to him. Even the Red Hood did something about it, regardless of how we felt about his methods."

"That's enough, Damian!" Bruce said angrily "Yes, okay? If he ever finds the cave, I'll tell Jason about it all, but until then, he doesn't need to know."

"Fine." Damian said "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something to do."

And with that, Damian walked out, grumbling quietly to himself. It wasn't that he didn't respect his father; quite the contrary, his father was one of the men he held in the highest regard. He just didn't like how Bruce planned to keep Jason in the dark about his heritage. It seemed like the boy was being robbed of something.

Damian walked into the study and walked up to an old grandfather clock. He reached to the book case beside it and pulled a book out slightly. The clock swung open, revealing a secret passage. Damian stepped inside and began walking down the stairs into the caverns below...


	2. Boy Wonders No More

Damian looked around the cave. He hadn't been there for about five years. During his teens, even after his father had given up the mantle of Batman and forbade him, Dick and Tim from ever becoming Batman, he had often gone down to the cave to think. He had found it relaxed him.

Now though, he was there for an entirely different reason. He walked up to the case which contained the costumes. He looked at them and smiled lightly to himself. His old Robin suit still sat there, even after all those years. He figured his father hadn't been there, and even when Alfred had been in his later years, he had never bothered to clean the disused cave; why would he?

Damian opened the case in front of one of the costumes and pulled it out. His father had told him he couldn't be _Batman_; he had said nothing about taking on the identity that came with the black and blue costume in his hands. He ran his fore finger around the blue wing shape on the chest that went down the arm before going back up.

Then he looked in the case. He had a wide selection of masks available to him. He thought about it for a moment. He could use any of them.

No. It wouldn't be right.

He pulled the mask off of the stand he had got the rest of the costume from. He walked into the chamber that had always been used for suiting up and did exactly that, before picking up some 'trinkets' as he liked to think of them, to use. He walked out and over to the motorcycle on one of the platforms, putting a helmet on before riding out of the cave.

* * *

Jason Todd pulled himself up and down on the bar hanging over the doorway in his bedroom. He had been doing the workout for the best part of an hour, and was only now beginning to tire.

He let go, dropping himself about two feet down to the floor, his red hair barely moving. He walked over to his bed, grabbing a sweat towel as he did and dabbing himself dry. He grabbed the TV remote from the bed side table and flicked it on.

".... today sold on _the daily planet_ to his former ward, Dick Grayson. When asked the motivation behind this, Grayson had this to say." The woman on the screen said, before the image changed to that of a man in his mid thirties wearing a business suit with short black hair.

"I'm sure there are a number of theories as to why I bought the planet from Bruce, but the fact is, I just wanted to ensure that those who work at the planet have an owner who is available to help out, something which I feel a person who is running a multi-billion dollar global corporation cannot do, and Bruce agrees, which is why he sold it to me." The man on the screen said, before the image shifted back to the woman.

"Whether or not this means _the daily planet_ will be receiving a new editor in the form of Grayson remains to be seen, but all we know is that it's sure going to be interesting to see what happens from here on out." She said, before Jason flipped the TV off.

He got up, walking over to his bedroom window. He looked out over the area outside. He'd taken this apartment in what had been called 'the slums of Gotham' because it had more than one floor. It actually had three, if the basement was included in the count, which made it perfect for his... operation.

He walked down the stairs into the basement and flicked the light switch. The room was a makeshift lair, featuring all that would be needed for a lethal war on crime but without any unnecessary items. He walked up to the suit in the corner and looked at it.

It was all black, featuring a scalloped cape and a cowl with points on it, giving it the appearance of a bat. On the arms, it featured dual machine guns, with ammunition being fed from the slightly overly thick utility belt. There were also blades ready for deployment, and a metal covering over the mouth.

Jason grinned before grabbing the costume and putting it on.

* * *

Bruce walked into his study and dropped the plate with a sandwich he was carrying; the cave entrance was open!

He ran down the stairs, already knowing what he would find. Damian had said he had something to do, this was what he had meant. He wanted to go out and be the new dark knight.

Bruce skidded to a stop, panting slightly. His body wasn't what it was ten years ago. He looked at the case. The Batman suit was still there. So were the Robin and Red Robin costumes. He looked along and gasped as he saw the stand where the Nightwing suit had been kept.

He looked around, trying to find something else, anything else, that might tell him where his son had gone and how he had left. He looked and spotted the spot where the missing bike had been.

"Dad?" A small voice said behind Bruce, causing him to spin round in shock to see his younger son "What is this place?"


	3. Revelations

"Dad?" Jason said, still waiting for a response from his father "Are you okay?"

"What?" Bruce said "Uh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, Jason."

"Right..." The nine year old said "So, why are you stood in a cave?"

"Because, well, uh..." Bruce said, not entirely sure what to say.

He'd never expected Jason to find the cave; heck, if Damian hadn't opened it, Bruce probably never would have set foot in there again. But there he was.

"You should tell him, honey." A female voice said from behind Jason as his mother walked up, putting her hands on her son's shoulders "He has a right to know, I guess."

"Fine..." Bruce said, finally conceding defeat after his moments of planning what he was going to say "You see Jason, before you were born, I used to be Batman."

"You used to be Batman?" The child said in disbelief, looking at his mother, who only nodded in confirmation "Are you guys serious?"

"Yes, we are." His mother said "Your father was the original Batman. There were, how many was it honey?"

"Officially, three." Bruce said "Five if you include people who claimed to be Batman but were never really the real deal."

"Five?" She said, this obviously being news to her "I know there was you and Dick, but who were the other three?"

"Well, first, there was me. Then, when I had a major injury that prevented me from being Batman, a man named Jean Paul Valley took over briefly, before I took it back from him. Dick replaced me during a, uh, absence." Bruce said, before his wife cut him off.

"Absence?" She said "Is that the _thing_ you once told me about?"

"Yes." Bruce said "However, before Dick took over, both Jason Todd and Tim Drake claimed to be Batman, even though Tim was only trying to stop Jason."

"Jason Todd?" Jason said "I've heard you mention most of those, except that Valley guy, but why was there one with my name?"

Bruce sighed. He looked at his wife, apparently for support. She just looked at him, tilting her head. He sighed.

"Jason Todd was my second partner." He began "See, there were some things with him, and, well, I made some mistakes with him. When you were born, I named you for him in the hopes it would prevent me from making the same mistakes with you."

"So I'm called Jason because you don't want to make a mistake?" Jason said "That seems kind of weird..."

"Yeah, well, don't worry." Bruce said, before slapping his knees "Anyway, you, bed. Honey, do you mind tucking him in?"

"Sure." Bruce's wife said, taking Jason by the hand and leading him out.

Bruce walked back to the case with the costumes. He ran his hand over his old suit and sighed. Damian had been right on the mark. Bruce _did_ miss being Batman, but there was nothing he could do. He could either be Batman or guarantee his families safety. There was just no contest.

He thought about it for a moment then pulled the suit out. Damian was a big boy and could handle himself, but maybe, just maybe, he would end up digging a hole too deep for Nightwing.

Maybe he'd need Batman.

* * *

"Mum, where's Damian?" Jason asked his mother when he was lying in his bed once again.

"I don't know sweetie." His mother replied honestly "He's probably just out with his friends. When you're older, you'll probably be out on some nights too."

"Is he Batman now?" Jason asked.

"No." His mother laughed "Your daddy specifically said to him when he was, ooh, about five years older than you that he wasn't allowed to be Batman. He wouldn't break that rule."

"Okay." Jason said "It's just one of the kids at school said that apparently Batman killed some guy that was stealing stuff in his neighbourhood."

"No, neither your father nor your brother would be doing something like _that_." Miranda replied "They're a lot of things but they're not killers."

"Okay." Jason said, rolling onto his side and curling up under the quilt "Night mum."

"Good night Jason." Miranda said, walking to the door and switching off the light, taking one last look at her son as she did so.

* * *

Bruce stepped out of the room he had always used to suit up. The old suit still fitted him perfectly, more or less. He wasn't quite as muscular as he had been ten years ago, but he was muscular enough for it not to just go slack. He looked over to the platform where the Batmobile was sat. He began walking towards it when he heard a voice behind him.

"You're going to try and find Damian, aren't you?" Miranda said to him, walking down the stairs until she was standing on the second step, eye level with Bruce "Bruce, you know Damian's a big boy now, right? You know he can take care of himself?"

"Yes." Bruce said coolly "But I don't know what's out there."

"I do." His wife replied "Apparently there's some new Batman out there killing people. What if you, or Damian, run into him?"

"Then I'll deal with him." He replied coldly "No matter what. I refuse to let anyone else get hurt by my mistake."

"Your mistake? What do you mean by that?" Miranda replied "Bruce, do you know who he is."

"Yes." Bruce said "He tried this when Batman was absent before. It's Jason Todd. He's this new Batman."


	4. The Victory of Jason Todd

Damian rode up to the derelict building. According to his sources, this was the last place the phoney Batman had been spotted.

He removed his helmet as he got off the motorcycle, placing the helmet down on it. He walked up to the building, pulling a small flashlight from his belt as he did and turning it on.

The building was eerily silent. If he hadn't spent so much time out doing exactly what he was now during some of his younger years, Damian would've been frightened when he heard the slight clang behind him. As it was, he just spun around, his eyes searching for the source. He quickly found it; a metal pipe, still vibrating. Something or someone had caught against it, causing it to hit the foundations by it.

He continued looking around, trying to find something, anything that might lead him to the fake. As it was, there was nothing. Whoever it was knew how to cover their tracks perfectly. They knew everything he knew. That narrowed the fake Batman down to four people, once he had discounted himself since he would know if it was him.

The first, of course, was Dick Grayson. But Dick was no killer. The second was his father. However, Bruce had been in a meeting, at which Damian had been present, during the time frame in which one of the victims was killed. The third was Tim Drake, but he was dead. Which left only one possibility.

Jason Todd.

Apparently, he had once again decided that he was the one true successor to Bruce as Batman and was out there, doing whatever he wanted to get what he considered 'justice'.

As he was about to turn and leave, there was a rustling behind him. He turned around, so he missed the sight of the fake Batman swinging a crowbar at his head, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Bruce pulled up outside the building where the motorcycles onboard tracker had been picked up by the Batmobiles receiver. He pressed a control, opening the cockpit so he could get out.

It had been a long time since he had been out in the costume, much less in the batmobile. It felt somehow... odd. Like this wasn't where he belonged anymore. Like the night no longer had need of him.

He walked up into the building, flipping a control on his belt, shifting the cowls lenses to night vision mode. The building was empty except for one thing; a man, apparently suspended by a wire attached to each arm. Bruce looked closer, and recognised the Nightwing symbol on the chest. He'd found Damian.

He ran over to where his son had been hung up, pulling a batarang out as he went. Though most of his skills had remained unused for many years, due to the occasional competition that involved accuracy that he competed in, his own accuracy had remained virtually undiminished.

He threw the batarang, watching as it cut through the wires before finally ending up in a wall, with Damian falling to the ground, the impact apparently jogging him awake.

As Bruce went to go over to his son, he felt a hard impact on his back, in the spot where it had been broken years earlier by Bane, causing him to collapse to the floor. He rolled over and turned around, to see the fake Batman, Jason Todd, stood over him, holding a crowbar.

"Has a certain sense of poetic justice, doesn't it Bruce?" He said, hitting Bruce again "You let Joker beat me like this, and now I'm doing the same to you as he did to me."

"Jason..." Bruce said "If I could've saved you... I would have..."

"Too little, too late, old man." Jason said, continuing the beating "You should've done something when you had the chance. Now, I'm going to make your son watch as you die at the hands of me, your greatest creation."

"Y-y-you're not my greatest creation..." Bruce said, weakly "You're my greatest failure..."

"Maybe you're right." Jason said, smiling under the mask "But I guess we'll never know."

As he said that, Jason struck Bruce one final time as he finally succumbed to his injuries and fell limp, dead on the ground. All Damian could do was watch in horror as his father took his last breath. Before Jason did it.

Picking a batarang from Bruce's utility belt, Jason threw it, slicing Damian's back. He tried to stand. He couldn't. The batarang had caused a severe enough injury to keep him down.

He began pulling himself along the ground, surprised Jason wasn't trying to follow. Then again, why would he? He'd said he'd wanted to kill Bruce and make Damian watch, and he had. He had no reason to kill Damian now. He was no longer a threat.

Damian finally reached the batmobile outside, pulling himself into the cockpit and pressing the control to close the cockpit. He pressed the auto navigation control, and pressed the button marked 'home'.

* * *

Damian pulled himself out of the batmobile, dragging himself along the cave floor towards the computer. He pressed the intercom button for his father and step mother's room.

"Miranda..." He said weakly "Help..."

That was all he said before passing out once more as the blood loss got to him.


	5. Seven Years Later

**Hey guys. Just so you know, the first four chapters were all a kind of prologue, even though the first chapter was only named as such. The rest of the story takes place seven years later in the year 2027. Enjoy.**

**BJB**

* * *

Jason woke up. He got out of bed. It had been seven years since the death of his father. He was still confused by it. The way it had been explained, his father had had an accident in a car. The odd thing was, his body wasn't found. Damian had been crippled in the same accident, so why would he have been found but not his father's body.

Jason had always guessed it was down to him being too disfigured and his mother worrying he would be emotionally scarred, but it still felt odd. It was just majorly weird to him that his dad, who had been _Batman_ would end up dying in a car accident. It just didn't feel right.

He got out of bed, moving to his bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, he came out, drying himself off before throwing on his clothes.

He walked downstairs and into the dining room. He walked straight through into the kitchen, grabbing a slice of toast off the side as he did and taking a bite.

"You know, it's rude to grab bits of other people's breakfast Jason." Damian said, coming into the room in his wheelchair.

"Sorry about that wheels, but I'm in a hurry." Jason said, polishing the toast off "I've got to get to school fast. Can I take the car?"

"Not _that_ car, and you know which one I mean." Damian said, nodding down, signalling the cave "Take the Skyline. Bring her back with a full tank of gas."

"Fine..." Jason said, giving a two fingered salute as he turned and walked out "Later bro."

* * *

Dick Grayson sat at his desk. He'd been maintaining an office, albeit not a large one, in the Daily Planet building since he'd taken it over seven years earlier. He took a sip of his coffee as he flipped through the latest edition. The perks of being the owner; he had it first.

He walked over to his window. He was on the top floor. You could see both Wayne Tower and the apartment building with the apartment he had maintained years ago.

When _he_ was Batman.

His intercom buzzed. He pressed the button.

"What is it Carey?" He asked.

"Sir, there's someone to see you." The voice of the receptionist said over the intercom "He says he's an old friend from one of your old jobs. Said you'd know what I mean."

"Send him up." Dick said, sitting at his desk once again.

The intercom went dead. A moment later, a muscular man walked in wearing black trousers and a white shirt with the collar undone. The man leaned over the desk with a sneer.

"Hello Dick." He said "Did you miss me?"

"Jason..." Dick said in response "What are you doing here?"

"What, can't I visit an old friend?" He asked.

"We're _not_ friends." Dick said "Especially not after what you did..."

"I'm hurt." Jason said "Anyway, just calling by wondering if you'd heard..."

"Heard what?" Dick replied.

"That there's someone _new_ masquerading as Batman." Jason said "Apparently, he's picking all of us off."

"And how do I know it isn't you?" Dick asked, leaning over the desk, forcing Jason to lean back.

"You don't." Jason said bluntly "Call this visit a courtesy. I'm staying at the Metropolis plaza. Meet me on the roof at sundown. I'll give you what I have on the matter."

With that, Jason rose to his feet and walked out. Dick sighed and leant back in his chair.

Jason Todd was a lot of things. Angry, violent, untrustworthy, maniacal, he could even be called intelligent, he certainly wasn't stupid. That said, Jason's mentality had always been, as Dick himself had once put it 'bent but not broken'. Dick had to try and find out what was going on, but he couldn't do that. He pressed the intercom.

"Carey, do I have any meetings this afternoon?" He asked.

"Two. One with the editor in chief and one with a personal acquaintance." Her voice replied.

"Right. Tell Lois I'll have to postpone until tomorrow." Dick said "Also, call Damian and inform him not to leave Gotham yet. I've had something to come up and will send him a message explaining it all."

"Right away sir." Carey's voice said, before the intercom cut off once more.

Dick reached under his desk, withdrawing a laptop. He opened it, turned it on and began typing an e-mail, explaining to Damian what he was to do if anything happened to him.

* * *

**Okay, sorry it was short, but the next bit is a big event. We've had the final death of Bruce Wayne and the crippling of Damian Wayne, both at the hands of Jason Todd. Tim Drake has been cited to already be dead, leaving only two of the people to have held the Batman mantle alive; Dick Grayson and Jason Todd. Looks like we'll be finding out if Jason is this new Batman who's hunting them.**


	6. The Death of Nightwing

Dick stepped into his penthouse. He had been maintaining it for years, yet there was one room he had only been in once since moving there. He walked into the room, flicking a light switch.

A number of large lights in the ceiling all came on at once. He looked around. He'd thought he wouldn't need it, but he had always kept his costume around. The one he had worn while he was Batman. He walked up to it, grabbing the cape. It was still just as fluid as it had been. He sighed. There wasn't much time.

He began by spraying the whole thing black. Then, he pulled a stencil from a drawer. It was in the shape of the emblem he had had on his old Nightwing costume. He put it on the chest and began spraying blue paint over it. A moment later, he looked at it. It was almost right, but one thing didn't fit. He pulled a pair of large scissors out, cutting the cowl from the cape before grabbing an old Nightwing mask out of the drawer. He was ready.

* * *

Jason Todd stood on the roof of the Metropolis plaza. He had been waiting for the last half an hour for Dick Grayson to arrive, wearing his costume. The one he had been using since he had killed Bruce and become the new Batman.

Years ago, only a fool would risk going to Metropolis to commit a murder, for fear someone like Superman could show up and stop them. But not now. Now, Superman would be off doing some Justice League thing, keeping him away. Jason had made sure of it. He had one night to do this and he _would_ do it.

There was a noise behind him and he spun around. Dick stepped out of the shadows, wearing his modified suit.

"Feeling unworthy again were we?" Jason said, smirking under his mask "Haven't we done this before?"

Then Dick realised. It _was_ Jason under the mask. He'd tipped him off to bring him there. To kill him.

"This time it ends properly." Dick said "I can't have you going around slaughtering people. It was bad enough that you were killing criminals, but I checked into it. You've been killing innocents as well if they got in your way."

"They hindered me from completing my mission." Jason said "Let the punishment fit the crime."

"Crime? What crime?!" Dick said "Being in the way of you when you wanted to murder someone who was little more than a petty thug?"

"Exactly." Jason said "They were hindering justice."

Suddenly, it dawned on Dick. He had been wrong. Jason's mentality wasn't just bent. It had been totally broken, to the extent where he believed anything and everything he did was justified by someone, _anyone_ who had been involved having committed a crime.

Before Dick could say anything in response to what Jason had stated, he found the other man charging at him, hitting him mercilessly. Dick staggered back towards the edge of the roof. Jason charged and leapt, attempting to kick Dick in the face.

Dick dodged, causing Jason to go over the edge. He looked down. Jason was hanging onto the ledge.

"Jason!" Dick yelled "Take my hand!"

"This really does feel like we've done this before." Jason said in response "This time, I'm ready."

As he said that, he pulled himself up, flipping up over Dick's head. He smirked under his mask again.

"Good bye Dick." He said coldly, before kicking Dick off the edge "Rest in peace."

Dick began to plummet. He went to try using the paracape, but failed. He looked at it, seeing the large tear down it, the one that had occurred as he fell off the edge. He continued to plummet until he hit the ground, not even feeling it.

Jason looked down at the body of his adversary before walking away. He had won. There was no one else to oppose his claim to be the one true Batman.

* * *

**Okay, I promise, this is the shortest chapter. I just felt this deserved its own chapter. I won't be putting any more up tonight but will be getting the next one up soon.**


	7. The Plan

"Jason Wayne?" The voice of Jason's school receptionist said "There's a call for you in the principal's office. Please come to get it immediately."

"Well, you heard the lady." Jason said, getting up from his desk, picking his stuff up and patting his teacher on the back as he went out "_Great_ job by the way. Keep it up."

He walked round the corner towards the office. He walked in, giving the principal a quick 'hi' as he did.

"I'll leave you to it." The principal said, getting up and walking out as Jason took a seat on the other side of the desk, picking up the phone.

"Hello?" He said.

"Jason?" Damian's voice said from the other end of the line "We need you to get home right now. It's important."

"Okay..." Jason said "Just let me tell-"

"No, as in _now_." Damian replied, cutting Jason off "I've told the principle there's a home related emergency and he's agreed to have your school work sent to you for the next fortnight."

"Okay then..." Jason said "So, where should I meet you?"

"By _the car."_

* * *

Jason walked into the cave. Damian was sat in his wheelchair beside the old batmobile. His facial expression was a solemn one.

"Jason, it's time I levelled with you." Damian said "Dad didn't die in a car accident."

"I figured that out about, ooh, ten minutes after you told me." Jason replied "I mean, the guy was _Batman_, I doubt a car crash would stop him."

"Well, exactly." Damian replied "The fact is, he was murdered, by someone who used to work with him years ago. Follow me."

Jason followed Damian to the large computer by one of the cave walls. Damian pressed a few buttons and the face of a red haired man with a white streak at the front came up.

"His name's Jason Todd." Damian said "He _was_ Robin, a long time ago. He's held a number of aliases over the years. The most recent, and the one you'll know, is Batman."

"Wait a second..." Jason said "You're telling me those rumours of some guy running around dressed as Batman killing people are true and it's this guy?"

"That's right." Damian said "See, the night I was put in this chair, I'd heard about it, so I went out using the old Nightwing costume. Dad had little choice but to follow me, to make sure I didn't get myself killed. We both got more than we bargained for. You see, years ago, Jason was killed by the Joker, you know who that is right?"

"I've read some things..." Jason replied coldly "Not a nice guy..."

"Well, precisely, and he beat Jason Todd to death with a crowbar. Dad never avenged this because he refused to kill, so Jason took his final revenge; killing him. He made me watch then crippled me because of what I represented." Damian said "I was like him once, but was reformed. Essentially, I was a mirror for him, and he didn't like seeing what he could've been."

"Right..." Jason said "So, why are you telling me this now?"

"Because of a message I received earlier." Damian said "It seems that Jason's going after everyone who worked with Batman, one by one. Now, we're down to just me, Barbra Gordon and Stepheney Brown. I already know who he's going after first. Stepheny will be his first target, since she's the only one who he judges capable of fighting back due to her not being in one of these chairs. So, we need to get someone out there."

"Okay..." Jason said "Don't tell me you want me to put on that Robin costume, because I refuse to be classed as some 'would be'. If I do anything, I do it my way."

"Yes, but before you do anything, you'll need training." Damian replied "Fortunately, Todd is in Metropolis. I've seen to it that he's stuck there with a help from an old friend."

"Who's that then?" Jason asked.

"Well, that'd be telling." Damian said with a grin "Let's just say that people don't feel so _super_ after they try fighting him."

"Ohhh, _him_." Jason said "So, what is it we're doing?"

"We're putting you into training." Jason said "He may be trying to be Batman, but nothing's stopping Nightwing from going after him."

Jason turned away from Damian for a moment before turning back to him.

"What, so you expect me to go through a week long crash course and then go after him in a costume that's completely inappropriate for the job?" Jason said, getting slightly aggressive with his brother.

"It's not inappropriate, if you know how to use it." Damian said "Now, let's get to work."


	8. I'm Batman!

After a week of training, Jason felt as if his muscles, already burning with pain, were going to give way if he did anything else. He also knew he had to use it to try and do something. He walked up to Damian, who was sat at the bat computer and leant against one of the panels intended for opening to perform maintenance. He looked at his brother and grinned.

"So, I'm ready to go now, right?" He said "I can go after Todd?"

"I don't think you'll ever be _ready_." Damian replied "But I think you need to do it. So get on the Nightwing suit and get out there."

"Yeah, about that." Jason said, moving off the panel and pacing "If I go as Nightwing, it's like telling the people that _he's_ the real Batman and what he stands for. That's why I have a better idea."

"You are _not_ becoming Batman." Damian replied.

"If I don't, then the world will think Batman just went homicidal. His memory would be destroyed, _Dad's_ memory would be destroyed." Jason shot back "Don't make me sit back and watch that."

"You're not ready for that kind of responsibility." Damian retorted "Batman needs to be able to fight anything that threatens the city, he needs to terrorise the criminal underworld and he needs to be an idea. You're not ready for that."

"Damian, I can't let him taint dad's memory." Jason said "I'm _going_ to be Batman, whether you like it or not. I'm what this city needs."

Damian sighed, spinning his wheel chair so he didn't strain his neck anymore from looking at him brother over his shoulder.

"Fine." He finally spoke "But I'll be here on the computer at all times. And promise me that if I tell you it's too dangerous and you have to get out of there, you do it. I've already lost a father, I don't want to lose a brother too."

"Fine." Jason said, heading to the room where the suits were kept.

He looked around for a moment before settling on one. It was the spare Dick Grayson had had during his tenure as Batman. It was more likely to fit him than his father's, not to mention his fighting style of using his speed and agility would be more complimented by it. It took him a moment to get into it before walking out.

"So, how do I look?" He asked.

"Like Batman." Damian replied, smirking lightly "But you need to sort out the voice. Push it down, make it raspier. It needs a gravelly tone so it can terrify the criminals."

"You mean like this?" Jason said, pushing his voice down to give it a deeper and slightly more gravelly tone "Sounds like I've got a throat infection."

"True, but it's also terrifying to criminals when combined with the suit." Damian replied "Now go. Take the batmobile. People need to know you're the real deal."

"You got it." Jason said, jumping into the batmobile "Don't wait up."

"I wouldn't anyway." Damian said before wheeling himself over to the batcomputer.

* * *

Julia walked down the street quickly. She'd just broke up with her boyfriend, Lucas, and the guy was being difficult, to say the least. He'd followed her first of all before vanishing. After a few moments, he and a few of his friends had shown up, making her turn around. The sixteen year old didn't need this. It was bad enough that her lab partner, Jason, had been pulled out of class early, now she was being stalked by a psycho ex.

She saw a group of guys, whom she knew to be friends of Lucas. She turned and began down an alley and instantly regretted it; it led to a dead end. As she turned around, she saw the eight guys stood there. She was going to die!

"Hey there sweetheart." Lucas said, stepping forward with a smile "You know, I really feel hurt by what you said."

"W-w-well, I was just honest." Julia said "You were cruel and abusive and you're just vile! I don't know what I ever saw in you."

"Oh, that hurts." Lucas said, pulling a switchblade from inside his jacket "Come on boys, lets teach her a lesson."

"Not so fast, boys." A gravelly voice said from above them, before a guy dressed as what appeared to be a giant bat dropped down "Hey, I'm Batman, and I'll be your hero for today."

The eight guys stood there for a moment. Then they laughed.

"Batman, huh?" Lucas said "Well, have I got news for you. I know Batman, and you ain't him, you're too short."

"You know him?" Batman said "Great, you can tell me where to find him."

"Make me." Lucas said, flicking the blade open and shut.

"I hoped you'd say that." Batman said, grinning before charging him, kicking his hand, making the blade go up in the air.

The ensuing fight was a spectacle, to say the least. The Batman moved in a fluid manner, with each attack leading into the next. As he went to strike Lucas yet again, one of Lucas' friends hit him in the back of the neck with a metal pole. While the men attacked Batman, Julia found herself running away, leaving her savior to be pummelled.

"You don't want to do that…" Batman said, slowly moving his hand to his belt where he grabbed a batarang from it, jamming it in one of his attackers' foot. He pulled himself up, kicking the man opposite him in the face "You may want to put ice on that."

After a moment, it was left just him and Lucas. Batman grabbed him and pulled a gun from his belt, causing Lucas to get a large lump in his throat before Batman fired up, using it to pull them up to the roof, hanging Lucas over the edge.

"Where's the other Batman?" He shouted in Lucas' face, spit showering it.

"H-he'd kill me if I told you…" Lucas said.

"What makes you think I won't?" Batman said as he dropped Lucas, saving him by firing a grapple… through Lucas' ankle, making him yelp in pain and whimper as he was pulled up before Batman removed the grapple "Now, let's try again. Where is he?"

"H-he's at the Gotham docks. He keeps a place there, uses it to maintain his crap." Lucas said, tears in his eyes "Please let me go."

"Poor choice of words." Batman said, jumping from the roof, dropping Lucas when they were about ten metres up, leaving him whimpering as he looked up only to see nothing…


End file.
